Two numbers decide a box, and they do different jobs. Length decides how much of the run one planter covers, and therefore how many you buy. Height decides what the box does once it is there.
Sizing a large planter box: length first
Our boxes start at 30 inches and the longest single piece, the Hudson, is 100 inches. Measure the run you want to cover and divide, remembering that two planters set end to end read as a line while three or more read as a wall.
A long box is not the same as several short ones. One 72 inch planter has a single soil mass that dries more slowly and holds a hedge more evenly than two 36 inch planters with a seam in the middle. Against that, two shorter pieces are far easier to carry, to turn through a doorway and to reposition later.
Height is the job
8 to 12 inches is a sill or edge. The Salon Box at 8 inches and the Cuba Low and Antwerp at 12 define a boundary without blocking a view, which is what you want along a low wall or under a window.
18 to 24 inches is the working height, where the planting starts above knee level and reads from a seated position. Miami, Torino, Panama, Tolga, Hollywood and Milano sit in this band.
32 to 42 inches is a screen. Amesbury, Brisbane, Delray and Potsdam at 32 inches, Perth and Darwin at 42, put the soil line near waist or chest height so the planting starts where a sightline already is.
Empty weights across the nineteen run from 12.3 lb for the smallest Salon Box to 124.4 lb for the largest Darwin. Every exterior dimension, interior opening and empty weight is published on the specifications page.
What a large box does not do
It does not hold as much soil as it looks like it will. The interior opening is smaller than the exterior on every model, because the wall has thickness and most forms taper. Work from the interior figure when you are matching a nursery pot, not from the name.
It is not meant to be filled with soil to the bottom. Jay Scotts call for lightweight filler in the base rather than heavy garden soil or fine sand, and some models take an internal shelf so a nursery pot sits near the rim. That keeps the weight down and the planter movable. Our guide to filling a large planter covers the method.
Length is what makes it awkward, not weight. A 72 inch box weighs less than most people expect and still will not turn on a stair landing. Measure the route in before you measure the terrace.
Drainage, finish and freight
Boxes are not drilled unless you ask. Jay Scotts add drainage holes free of charge at order time, one to two inch holes roughly every 12 inches, which on a 60 inch box is four or five. A drilled planter is final sale. See the drainage guide.
All nineteen are finished to order in any of the 20 standard colors or a custom match, with an automotive-grade paint system. Custom color orders are final sale.
